Pressure responsive valve



Aug. 10, 1954 c. M. PETERS PRESSURE RESPONSIVE VALVE Filed July 2s, 1951 C//fford M. Pe fers INVENTOR.

BY v W A TTORNE YJ Patented Aug. l0, 1954 UNITED f PATENT OFFICE .Clifford'Ml Betere. Houston, Tex.;` assigner to.

Garrett Oil' Tools; Inc.,` Houston, Tex.,j a corporation of Texas Application July 2.3, 1951-, Serial No.. 238go48f 1'1" Claims. 1

.This inventionrelates. to pressure. .responsive valves. I-nioneof its aspects.,it..relates` toa lvalve for controlling.- the. injection, of fluid. under pres.- sure from` one container into4 anothei-'jcontainer responsiveto.apressure applied, to, said valve.V

Valves kof this yinvention. are. well adapted for use in gas lift operations in the. production of petroleumthrough wellbores. and the description of. the, valve will he directed.. to, its application in thisparticular eldoiuse.. ItA isto'he' understood A thatlthisisdone by wayv of.' illustration andnot by way of. limitation.v

Gaslitt valves are. Wellknown .to the prior art. The more successi'ul'ofthe valves. heretofore used have employed a'liellows to. formv a'pressure Seal between the pressure. dome'ancr'the'cfon'rol Huid in the borehole., Howevensuch. bellows often'fail .in use, for onecause or another-thereby-necessi'- tatngreplacement of the'bellows or even of' the entire valve. liurtherl a bellowssufficiently strongn to withstand 'theY large pressure dinerenr- Ytials'impressedthereon at one timeor another is yexpensive and, being subject; toA failure; is apt to be. the 'determiningV factor as to; the commercial success of a valve' employing the same.` f n An object of this'invention is torprovidefan economical` and' simple pressure responsive valve.

Another-object ofthisinventionf iste-provide a pressure; responsive valvein which t'h'e'sealv between a pressureK dome andan external'f'c'ontrol huid is* eiected` withoutV the useof a bellows.

Another object of thisinventionis to provide-a .pressure responsive valve Iwherein a sealA is effected between the pressure-domeandan external controlfluidi by aseal means operatively lresponsive toa pressuredifferenti'al maintained thereacross. f

Another object is toiprovide a pressure'respon'- sive valve with such a seal means so arrangeda'nd constructedthat a seal. will'- be 'effect-edf even though the pressurei'n'the pressurefdome andthe pressure of-"t-hev external controluid are of" equal magnitude Y Another-objectief this invent-ion is to.provide a pressure responsive valve wherein a pressure differential sealing'` means disposedi between: two iiuids rmaintainsY an operativesealev'en-'when the pressureofsuch -ii'uiolsbecon'iesequal.v

Another object oi this invention 'isto provide ,a pressure responsive. valve V wllerei-nia"pressure responsive actuating means isy provided'with a .slidable sealcomprising an` Q-ring sealing means and wherein the;sealingieietiveness" ofY the Q'- ring means is.maintainedbvprovidine a pressure difierential; thereacross, evenwhen. the ,pressure in the pressure. dome ofv thefvalve is equal to. the pressure of thefcontrolud.

Another object of. thisk invention is. to provide a, pressure'responsive valve which is particularly adapted to be used in, gas. lift operations. in produeing, a well and .wherein av pressure responsive means, isfexposed'. to pressure I'luids on opposing sides thereof andwherein a seal is effected' across said.v responsive means by a pressure differential sealing means even though the pressures of said fluids may become equal.

Still' another object of this invention is to provide a how control'valve, actuated responsive to a difference between two. pressures appliedv tot opposing sides ofa sli'dabl'e piston wherein sai'dt piston is provided with` 0-ring seals having a pressure'differentialA maintained' acrossy them by a pressure fluid reposingj ina* chamber therebetween;

Other objects, advantages and featuresv of" this invention will be apparent to one skilledinthe art upon a consideration of the written specification, the appendedA claimsy and'E the attached vdra-wings wherein :V

Fig. 1 is a vertical view of a well string illustrating one use of the valve: off this invention; andi Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectionall view of the valveshowin'g'7 it in closedposition.

f Like charactersioff reference are'usecl throughoutth'e-two views to designate likepart's.

Referring: to the drawings. there'. isillustrated arpressurefdilerential. valve having a-hollow casing;t |10? withl onev end threaded? atA lill to receives. correspondingly-threadedsealingplug 12:.. Means Torf providing ae fluidetight: seal betweenY plug; I2 and casing In can comprise an O-ring I3 received afperipheral' groove around vtnerpiug1 and a gasket: I t betvveenarr overhanging shoulder" HiA of plug: In andrthe endzotthecasing.

Plug; lf2 isY provided with a means for passinga pressure uidf'therethrough. into; the interior of casing lfli: forV apurposeto behereaf-ter explained; Suchfmeans; comprises a cheek valve.- li threaded .into passage li'l through the plug',v to: admituid through such passage into casing; Hl.' but `toprevent iiovr ini an: opposite.y direction'. 'Lof'provide a sealingl backvupfforthe-z check valve, back-up plus -l il: is threaded into: enlarged:t diameter' portion of' passage 4T and hasa peripheral' groove-.1:3

' receiving.- 0"-ring1 2U' in sealing rrelationship with 'removed'. from' plug l2 and4 a; pressureuid' in.-

jected into casing Hl through'checkvalve HiV and",

after the desired amount of fluid has been injected, plug I8 can be replaced to additionally assure against fluid leakage from the casing through passage Il.

Attached to the other end of casing l as by threaded connection 22 is a valve cage 23 which can be considered as an extension or as a part of casing I0. One end of the valve cage has a reduced diameter portion 24 bearing threads 25 by which the valve can be attached to a container such as the flow string of a well.

The valve cage is provided with a flow passage therethrough between iluid inlet ports 25, formed by chordally cutting through the walls of the valve cage, and fluid discharge port 2l. Disposed between such ports is a valve means comprising a valve seat 28 and a valve member 29 to control the flow of fluid from one port to the other. The valve seat can be formed on a seating member 3D received in the Valve cage against shoulder 3l and maintained in position by a snap-in ring 32. A suitable seal can be provided between the seating member and the adjacent walls of the valve cage by an O-ring 33 received in a peripheral groove in the valve member.

The valve member 2S is adapted to be seated in seat 28 and to be unseated therefrom by a pressure responsive means connected thereto, the pressure responsive `means being exposed on one side to an enclosed fluid pressure within the valve casing and on its other side to the pressure of a control fluid internal of the valve cage as impressed through ports 2B.

The pressure responsive means comprises a Vpiston 33 slidably received in a cylinder 34 which is formed internally of casing It. The piston is formed with two end portions 35 and 33 having a slightly smaller diameter than that of cylinder 34 so as to be slidable and yet have a snug fit therein. These portions are joined by a connection 3l of substantially less cross-sectional area than that of cylinder 34 so as to form a sealing pressure chamber 38 between piston portions 35 and 36.

` Piston 33 is connected by a valve stem 39 to valve member 29 so that movement of the piston will result in a like movement of the valve member to seat and unseat the same. A stop nut 40 can be threaded to the Valve stem in such a position as to abut shoulder 4l on casing lll when the valve is openfand thereby limit movement of piston 33 in its cylinder. Sufcient clearance is provided between nut 4B and cage 23 to permit ready access of control pressure fluid from ports 26 to the exposed surface of piston portion 35.

A stop means such as snap-in ring 42 is provided between piston 33 and the end of cylinder 34 so that when cage 23 is removed from the valve, the movement of piston 33 completely out of its cylinder will be prevented. Of course, this stop means, will not operate to limit movement of the piston when the valve cage is in place for the seating of Vvalve member 29 on seat 28 will then act as a stop means.

With this construction as just described, it will be seen that there is provided a pressure dome defining a substantially constant pressure fluid chamber 43 into which fluid can be injected for charging the same toany desired pressure in order to exert a substantially constant force, under isothermal conditions, on the endwise face; of piston portion 35 to urge valve member 29 to a seated position and thereby close port 21. Also, there is provided an opposing endwise `face on piston portion 36 on which control fluid will exert a force tending to unseat the valve member. Thus, the piston is operable to govern actuation of the valve member to control flow through the fluid passage of port 2l responsive to variations in pressure of a control fluid to which the piston is exposed.

In accordance with this invention, at least two spaced apart sealing means are provided for affecting a sliding seal between the piston and the walls of the casing or cylinder in which it slides to prevent fluid charged into the pressure dome from escaping therefrom and to prevent control fluid from bleeding into the pressure dome. These sealing means. are 0f the type which require a pressure differential thereacross to effect their sealing actions and are illustrated as O-rings 44 and 45 received in respective peripheral grooves in piston portions 35 and 36. In order to assure a positive pressure differential across each of the sealing means, sealing pressure chamber 38 is provided therebetween to be in pressure communication with each sealing means and is adapted to be charged with a pressure fluid at a pressure having a larger or smaller magnitude than that existing in chamber 43 aS will be discussed more fully below.

Means for charging sealing chamber 38 with pressure fluid can comprise passage 4S through the valve stem with endwise ports 41. Disposed within the passage is a check valve 48 permitting fluid ilow into the chamber but preventing ilow therefrom. A back-up sealing plug 49 for this valve is threadedly received in an enlarged portion of passage 46 and has an O-ring 50 to complete the seal. Valve member 29 is attached to the other end of this back-up plug.

With the valve constructed as in Fig. 2, plug 49 can be removed and sealing chamber 38 charged with fluid under pressure. The pressure impressed in this chamber is preferably substantially higher than that within the pressure dome and also higher than the maximum pressure of the control fluid. Thus, for example, when piston portions 35 and 36 Vare of equalv area and the pressure dome is to be charged to say 500 p. s. i., then sealing chamber 38 can becharged to a pressure of 700 p. s. i. to thereby maintain an effective sealing differential across O-ring 44 of 200 p. s. i. Since the control fluid will cause the piston to unseat valve member 29 at a pressure slightly in excess of 500 p. s. i. in this example, the pressure in the sealing chamber will likewise maintain an effective differential pressure across O-ring 45. In this manner, a sealing dillerential is maintained across O-rings 44 and 45 even when the control fluid pressure equals that in the pressure dome.

While it is preferred to maintain a pressure in sealing chamber-38 higher-than that in the pressure dome, such pressure can be lower so long as a differential is maintained across 0-rings 44 and 45 during a substantial portion of the operating cycle.

The magnitude of the pressure ydifferential to be maintained across the pressure diilerential responsive sealing means 4 4 and 45 can be varied with certain variations in results. With high pressure differentials, e. g. 1500 p. s. i., and when using Orrings Aas the sealing means, the usual O-ring tends to flow into and assume the shape of the groove or cavity in which it is received and to become very tightly pressed into the narrow annulus between the piston and its cylinder. Asa result, frictional resistance to movement of the:fpisboniinoreasesfwith'faficoncomltantdecrease in'y` sensitivity'oti-the=-valvez y Preferably; tlievxid lpressure :differential-latimes 'these Geringe, parrtisular-ly.y Caring-:4M is=maintainedwithin the range 'off`125 toiSUUlp: 1. or, iniother words, low enough ltdl permit? thea Uringsftohave .ai-rollingI action, ii "e: tolroll.' about their circumferentialaxis; and yet-.high enough tot effectively ma'intahr` them in sealing relationship between: fthe pistoni and its cylinder. Thisfrollingf action'. decreasesrictional resistance to movements-off the fpi'stonfand, according'lyg permitsf.' an increased sensitivityu ofi the valve. The most eiiectivev` sealing pressure dif"- ferential consistenti. witlrdesired`l valve sensitivity is partially dependontf-upon?thek qualityand; oon:- -saruotion of the Onring and upon'rthaphysical charaoteristiosge. g. viscosity,"ofithe fluidslseal'ed against. The optimumidilierentialfor'any given set of operating conditions can be determined by mere-routineltest.;

It is pnefenredto charge bot-haer chambers 43 and 38 to be partially iilled with liquid and to their employ a gas as the pressurizing fluid. In this manner, liquid ismaintainediagainsiz Gering M byi theV liquid in` chamber'll while the liquid i in chamb'eris maintained' against 0ring sto thereby ensure" lubricationofjthe; O-riugs':l It: is contemplated-'that a gaseous fluid can; be used exclusively ineither or-both chambers but iti'will not provide the desiredlubrication. p x vThe valver of Fig. Z'canbe used as a gas, lift valve as shown irr Fig. v1l by screwing' it'into` a projecting member 5| attached to conduit section 52 and having a passage communicating with the interior thereof from port 2l. A protecting member 53 can be provided above each of the valves to prevent it from striking the walls of the casing when the flow string is being run in or pulled out of the bore hole. Conduit sections 52 with valves attached can be inserted between lengths 54 ofthe regular ow string in a manner known to the art.

Inoperation, a control uid is pressured into the casing externally of the flow string and acts through ports 26 on the endwise surface of piston portion 36 to unseat valve member 29 and permit the control fluid to flow across the valve seat, through port 2l and thence into the flow string. Since pressure chamber 43 (the pressure dome) has been previously charged to a predetermined pressure through plug I2, the force exerted by the control fluid on piston portion 35 must exceed somewhat the force of the pressure Within the pressure dome on piston portion 35 to open the valve. When the control fluid pressure drops below such required value, the valve Will close. Sealing chamber 38 has also been previously charged to a pressure substantially above or below that in the pressure dome and accordingly, a pressure differential will always be maintained across the Gering seals 44 and 45.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth ltogether With other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated `by and is within the scope of the claims.

As many possible embodiments may bemade of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is'to beY understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying at" least two sealing means` disposed toeffecta sliding seal@ betweenlsaid pressure responsive mea/nsand1 said casing, said sealing means being structurallyv ofthe typewhch` has anincreased sealing effectivenessresponsiveto a pressure* 'dif-"2- ferential across each-of them, a sealingy pressure chamber intermediate: saidy sealing means; and means for charging said sealing pressure cham#- ber with ailuidatA av predetermined pressure substantially dilferent from thatofV said rstf pressure chamber whereby a predetermined differ'- ential cany be normally maintainedl across said sealingv means. 7 v

21. In apressuresresponsivevalve, the combinaition which comprises, a hollow casing having-'in'- let andoutlet uidnow ports, a valve member for controlling now' of fluid through said'ports,

a piston slidably'received 'ini said casingto form a rst pressure chamber therein, said piston being connected to said valve member to actuate the same responsive to pressure variations in a control fluid to which the piston is exposed, at least two sealing means disposed between said piston and said casing to effect a sliding seal therebetween, the sealing means being of the type which has an increased sealing power responsive to a pressure differential thereacross, a sealing pressure chamber intermediate said sealing means for receiving a pressure fluid, and means for charging said sealing pressure chamber with said pressure fluid at a predetermined pressure so asto thereby maintain a pressure differential across said sealing means.

3. The valve of claim 2 wherein said sealing means are O-rings` 4. The valve of claim 3 wherein said sealing pressure chamber is formed by a reduced crosssectional area portion of said piston intermediate its ends and said sealing means.

5. In a pressure responsive valve, the combination which comprises, a hollow casing having a fluid passage therethrough, a valve member and a seat disposed in said passage, a piston slidably received in said casing and connected to said valve member, said piston extending across said casing to expose a rst endwise face to a rst pressure chamber formed thereby in said casing, said piston also having an opposite endwise face adapted to be exposed to the pressure of a control fluid so that said piston can actuate said valve member responsive to variations in pressure of said control fluid, at least two O-ring" sealing means between said piston and said casing to form a sliding seal therebetween, a sealing pressure chamber between said O-rings having communication therewith, and means for charging said sealing pressure chamber with a resilient fluid at a predetermined pressure differing from that of said Yfirst pressure chamber and from that to which said opposite endwise face of said piston is normally exposed.

6. The valve of claim wherein said piston is connected to said valve member by a valve stem and wherein said means for charging said sealing pressure chamber includes a charging passage through said valve stem and communicating ,with said sealing pressure chamber and a check 4a sealing pressure chamber, an rO-ring on each of the end portions to provide a sliding seal with said casing, a valve stem connecting said piston to said valve member, and a check valve controlled passage into said sealing pressure chamber.

8. The valve of claim 7 wherein said iirst pressure chamber contains a pressure fluid and said sealing pressure chamber contains a pressure uid at a pressure substantially diierent from that within said first pressure chamber whereby a pressure, differential is maintained across said O-rings.

9. As a subcombination, a hollow casing having one end closed, a piston slidably received in said -casing to form a pressure chamber with the closed end portion thereof, said piston having 'a reduced cross-sectional area portion intermediate its end portions to form a sealing pressure chamber with said casing, and sealing means on each of the end portions of said piston and of the type which form a seal responsive to a pressure differential thereacross, said sealing pressure chamber being in fluid communication with each of said sealing means and charged with a resilient iiuid at a pressure differing from that of rst said pressure chamber and from that to which the end of the piston remote from first said pressure chamber is normally exposed.

10. The subcombination of claim 9 wherein said sealing means are O-rings.

11. The subcombination of claim 9 in combination with means for charging iluid into said sealing pressure chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,545,936 Black July 14, 1925 1,975,345 Baker Oct. 2, 1934 2,211,456 Caldwell Aug. 13, 1940 2,314,869 Blynton Mar. 30, 1943 2,345,865 Boynton Apr. 4, 1944 2,471,605 Broeze May 31, 1949 2,509,839 Panner May 30, 1950 2,519,242 Garrett Aug. 15, 1950 2,611,671

Jirsa Sept. 23, 1952 

